"I don't think the Band are all that overlooked but the Grateful Dead is. Same for Lynyrd Skynyrd. For some reason, some fans of No Depression type music seem to find these bands beneath them. I'm glad to see that Gram has gotten a lot of…"
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Dave Isaacs
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Can jazz be called roots music?
15 Replies
I spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff, primarily because my musical interests are so wide that my material tends to fall in the cracks between genres. My primary project DI3 is not, per se,…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Charley Dunlap Nov 8, 2011.
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Jonathan Lee commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
David Mahler commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"Okay, so now we're down to the question, "What is Americana" as a musical definition. If it means championing one particular form of American music, i.e., Country; then Gram and the Byrds were the forerunners, at least in the…"
Will James commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"To me the Americana movement started - and ended - with The Band. Back then what we call "Americana" today was mostly called folk music or legit country. I remember when Time (magazine for those not old enough) put The Band on its cover…"
Skot Nelson commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"If I could +1 Ms. H's comment, I would. Dead are iconic but overrated. The Band 's legacy is under-appreciated by music fans today, though not by musicians.
Also: total score for Canada."
Charley Dunlap replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"I wasn't clear: Gershwin, I thought, could be Americana, but certainly not roots. All these definitions are more art than science!
I made that distinction between pre and post Bop jazz because Bop was when jazz really became a…"
Dave Isaacs commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"Seems to me that Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman were the architects of what became the mainstream country-rock movement, culminating in the monster success of the Eagles. Dunno if you'd consider them roots or not, but at least sonically the…"
Ronald Wilkinson replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"
Of course "Roots" is a loose word on its own.
I would not call Gershwin music roots. Then I guess Tin pan Ally might be roots.
So the dividing line for Jazz would be everything pre swing? Hard cut to make. Is it the sound, style or…"
Charley Dunlap replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"I didn't actually finish my last post. I meant to continue to to say that the way in which jazz seems to fit best into current Americana is when jazz of the "rootsier" variety, i.e., pre-Bop jazz, is merged into other…"
Charley Dunlap replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"It is an interesting point about written music. It doesn't necessarily apply, but it's not a bad rule of thumb. Of course, the problem remains: what exactly is Americana? Some might consider Gershwin to be Americana, and…"
Ronald Wilkinson replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"Yeah, there's Italian- American music. I like the Italian folk forms to which I was introduced by Stanley Tucci's "Big Night.""
Ronald Wilkinson replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"I think I get the gist of what you're saying.
Isn't roots staying in a form that is not charted? Maybe that's a stretch but I think written music is or can be contrived. Like the Gershwin’s for example, they took forms of jazz-…"
Charley Dunlap replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"Like all questions of classification, this is essentially absurd and of necessity only to journalists/editors and librarians. But an interesting discussion nevertheless. My answer: jazz can be roots music when it is, can't when it…"
SlimHadley replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"Yes, indeed, Jazz forms can be considered Americana. Dixieland-style, Louis Jordan-type stuff!!! Going further into the concept of genre, what about including Mexican song forms in the umbrella of Americana? And Puerto Rican song forms? I'm…"
Terry Roland commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"@John, Yes..The Byrds post Gene Clark/David Crosby were as important as the original band especially in this area. There's a growing movement of appreciation for Clarence White especially. Like The original line-up took the folk music of Bob…"
Jo Serrapere replied to Dave Isaacs's discussion 'Can jazz be called roots music?'
"Yes, yes, yes. If one plays straight ahead modern jazz, then they have they're own categorical genre. But for early roots jazz, I think it should be included in Americana. I used to get mad at the AMA conference, because it…"
Randy S commented on Dave Isaacs's blog post 'The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?'
"and to add to my previous commnet- throw Robert Hunter's songwriting into the mix...tales and folklore, stories of Americana..even the non Acoustic ones- Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Womwn, Deal etc..."
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The Grateful Dead & The Band - original Americana groups?
Whenever people talk about the beginnings of the Americana movement, there are two groups that I don't ever hear mentioned that I think deserve recognition. If we take "Americana" to mean music that has its roots in American myth and folklore (and of course folkloric music, including the blues), both the Dead and the Band qualify in every respect.
The Band started off as a rockabilly combo backing Ronnie Hawkins, and moved on to back Dylan before stepping out on their own with…
ContinuePosted on November 1, 2011 at 10:00am — 30 Comments
DI3: finding our place on the musical map
DI3 started out at the Dave Isaacs Trio: me up front and a rhythm section behind me. Pretty typical power-trio setup, with the guitar hero up front and the bassist and drummer kicking things along. I led the band, booked the gigs, and took responsibility for pretty much everything that needs doing to keep a band moving. The three of us have grown to be great friends, and as the personal relationship grew the musical relationship deepened at the same time. A gradual metamorphosis was…
ContinuePosted on October 26, 2011 at 12:00pm
Comment Wall (3 comments)
- At 5:24pm on October 25, 2011,
Mike Cullison said…
- Hey Dave, hope to see you out and about.
- At 4:06pm on October 25, 2011,
Kurt Fortmeyer said… - DI3 Rocks!
- At 2:46pm on October 25, 2011,
NoDepression said… - Hey Dave welcome to the No Depression community! We hope you're finding everything okay. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback (here are some FAQs in case anything's confusing).
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